TAMPA, Fla. — Tom Brady is enjoying retirement from the NFL, but it’s hard to know how long that will last.
The “never-say-never” position of the seven-time Super Bowl winner hasn’t changed since he announced last month he was walking away from the league after 22 seasons, the past two with the Bucs.
Brady has announced plans to produce and star in a feature film called "80 for Brady" with Jane Fonda, Lily Tomlin, Rita Moreno and Sally Field. He’s playing a lot of golf and spending time with his family.
But when he was asked about his plans for the future on golfer Fred Couples’ SiriusXM radio show, Brady seemed as noncommittal as ever about retirement.
“I tell you, I wish I had a clear vision of what the future holds,” Brady said, “but I think for me, there’s a lot of great things and a lot of great opportunities that, I know I said right after football season I was looking forward to spending time with my family. And I’ve done that the last five weeks, and I know there’ll be a lot more of that, too. So, you know, I like staying busy, that’s for sure.”
Brady said he had plans to visit his parents at his childhood home in San Mateo, Calif. But after that? The door seems open to anything.
“Looking forward to that, looking forward to some golf in the next few days and some more family time,” he said, “and then we’ll figure out where we go from there.”
Bucs coach Bruce Arians said Tuesday at the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis that he believes Brady is indeed retired. General manager Jason Licht said the team “will leave the light on” should Brady decide he wants to return.
The Bucs will retain Brady’s rights, and Arians said Tuesday he wouldn’t part with the quarterback for anything less than five first-round picks.
Tampa Bay will have trouble trading for a quarterback and currently is planning to re-sign Blaine Gabbert as a free agent to compete with second-year pro Kyle Trask.
Maybe Arians is right when he says Brady just likes to “have his name out there.” But Brady certainly isn’t doing anything to quell speculation that he will return.
